For ten years of Ioana Holt's childhood, she was a dancer. She had a very disciplined life - a strict regimen - but now she is hoping to find a better balance of work and play. Her desire is to have this experience earnestly translate into her business. With her beautiful smile, displaying the most adorable dimples, she exclaimed, "People should feel and eat healthy...but, every so often, splurge."
Ioana arrived in New York from Romania, in 2012. As she shared her story, I was absolutely mesmerized. She had grown up on a farm surrounded by animals, including thousands of sheep, as well as multiple vegetable and flower gardens. Her favorite garden was filled with spectacular roses that her mother tended to each year. In addition to the farmland, her family owned several restaurants. There is no doubt in my mind that she is experienced in every aspect of running a business, for, as she told it, "I always worked, even as a very young girl."
It was difficult to keep Ioana's life straight as she enthusiastically continued. She speaks seven languages, has a degree in chemistry, worked in a chocolate shop in Austria, but at the age of twenty, she made the bold decision to come to the United States to attend college. She landed at New York University.
It was there that she met William. As the two recounted, one day Ioana was drawn to a smell emanating from somewhere down the hall. She followed the scent and knocked on the door. When William opened it, an instant friendship formed, since the two realized that they had similar passions for experimenting with food.
For a time, Ioana was attending classes in the morning, working as a waitress in the evening, and then going home and baking into the wee hours of the night. Eventually, she decided to take a leave of absence from NYU and devote her time to her true passion - cooking. Initially, she was selling home-made truffles online, but then something in her clicked: "I said to myself, 'to hell with it, I just want to do this.' I want to work with people and make them happy."
It was also around that time that Ioana and William reconnected. One day, when they were grabbing a cup of coffee, Ioana gave William a chocolate. When he asked where it was from, she told him that she had made it...and then proceeded to explain her business plan to create a healthy dessert bar. To her wonderful surprise, William said, "I'm in." A few months later, they had secured a lease on a space with a small, secret garden in the back, ordered the necessary equipment, and began creating a cozy environment that would allow people to escape into a warm sweets-filled "home" for a little while.
In the intimate space, which opened in 2016, there are small, wrought-iron round white tables, chairs with a rose motif carved in the center, a comfy couch, a few stools towards the back, and silk roses on the ceiling. Every detail has been carefully thought out by Ioana. When I pointed to a charming watercolor hanging above the couch, Ioana simply said, "Oh I painted that." Of course she did, for I believe that there is nothing this remarkable young woman cannot do.
When I accompanied Ioana to the immaculate kitchen in the back, where she creates her magic, I learned that she makes her own butter and cheese from products on a farm upstate. What she cannot find in New York, her mom sends to her from Romania - including the dried roses from their garden that she vacuum seals and ships for Ioana to use in her many Eastern European recipes.
The Manhattan Sideways Team highly recommends tasting one of the Ioana's remarkable baked goods, or sitting down for a glass of tea or cup of coffee, but stopping by Rose and Basil is worthwhile simply to meet its energetic owner. She has found the true meaning of success by following her dream and, at the age of twenty-four, opening her own precious shop. As a big grin came across her face, Ioana mused, "To me, this place feels like my husband, my kids, and even my grandkids, all rolled into one." And she could not be happier.